. >> reporter: but whether it was health care, jobs, or medicare, it was romney who stood out for his aggressive style. >> i just don't know how the president could have come into office, facing 23 million people out of work, rising unemployment, an economic crisis at the kitchen table, and spend his energy and passion for two years fighting for obama care. >> reporter: the president made his points in a slower, more laid-back manner, often looking down, sometimes appearing disengaged. it's not that he didn't try to rip apart romney's economic plan. >> that kind of top-down economics, where folks at the top are doing well, so the average person making 3 million bucks is getting a $250,000 tax break, while middle class families are burdened further. >> reporter: romney was determined to go toe to toe. >> but virtually everything he just said about my tax plan is inaccurate. >> all right. go ahead. >> so if the tax plan he described were a tax plan i was asked to support, i would say, absolutely not. >> reporter: the president did get digs in. >> for 18 months, he's been running on this tax plan.
